To think in tabloids is to oversimplify a complex theory or set of circumstances. The tabloid thinker prefers quick summaries and has the habit of putting things in a nutshell. Tabloids concerning people are popular because they offer a neat summary of the character of a prominent person. 'Marx? You don't know who Marx was? Why, he was that philosopher who became impatient and irritable in his old age.' It is much easier to remember Marx in this simple fashion than to remember him as a man of many interesting and controversial facets of character and conviction. These human tabloids are frequently emotional, but they are not mere Emotional Terms. To be Tabloid Thinking there must be some indication that someone is trying to sum up another's character: All stereotypes (barbers are talkative) are tabloids because they represent a certain trait or characteristic, which is really superficial or trivial, as being the essential nature of a given class.